


A Grim Circumstance

by irishlullaby13



Series: Never Doubt I Love [6]
Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Ichabbie Halloween, Ichabbie Weekend, Silly Children, Supernatural Creatures, Trick or Treating, and someone wants a puppy, flirty ichabbie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:10:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8402929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irishlullaby13/pseuds/irishlullaby13
Summary: The Mills-Crane family gears up for Halloween.  Of course, things never go peacefully.





	1. Chapter 1

“It's not a costume if you wear it _all the time_ ,” Sophie's tiny voice groused as loudly as it could. “It would be like Daddy wearing his cole-on-ee-all clothes for trick or threatening.”

“But I want to be a princess for trick-or-treating,” John sobbed, flopping onto the floor. He let out a melodramatic wail that would have put a real princess to shame.

“No! I'm going to be a princess so you can't be one!” Sophie shrieked. “I never play princesses so I get to be one for trick or threatening. You play princesses _all the time_.”

Ichabod and Abbie shared a glance. They both knew this was not going to end well. “Rock paper scissors?” Abbie asked.

“On three?” Ichabod suggested. On the count of three, Abbie used her fingers to form a rock. Ichabod chose paper, winning the round.

“Damn,” Abbie grumbled under her breath. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to break up a fight between two pre-school children—although that did play a part in it. It was that more often than not, the only one that could curb Sophie was Ichabod. It all depended on how angry the little girl was.

Abbie stepped into the foyer just in time to make Sophie think twice about the idea of kicking John. She leaned against the archway and folded her arms over her chest. “What's going on?” Abbie asked.

“John won't let me be a princess for trick-or-threatening,” Sophie huffed, pointing at her wailing brother on the floor.

“First of all, Sophie... it's called trick-or- _treating_ ,” Abbie replied. 

Sophie put her little fists on her hips. “Nah-uh. You knock on the door and they gives you candy or you threaten to call social services.”

Abbie opened her mouth to respond but found she didn't exactly have one. She turned to look at Ichabod questioningly. He shrugged and looked just as confused as she was. Turning back to Sophie, she asked, “Why can't you both be princesses for Halloween?”

“ _Because he always dresses like a princess_!” Sophie replied loudly. “Weren't you listening to us?! He can't wear something he always wears because then it's not a costume!”

“ _Excuse me_ ,” Abbie said challengingly. “You need to watch that tone before you're sitting at Ezra's house for Halloween.” Sophie puffed her cheeks and her bottom lip poked out as she tried to look intimidating. “Second, you can go as whatever you want for Halloween. Just because he always wears princess dresses doesn't mean he can't be a princess for Halloween. And John, you have no authority on what your sister can and can't wear.”

Sophie's scowl disappeared and she bounced impatiently as tears formed in her eyes. “But John would be a prettier princess than me. And he wants to be Tiana. _I_ want to be Tiana.”

John sniffled as he sat up. “I think you'd be a pretty princess, Sophie,” he said softly. “I can help with your make up. And I says you would be a better Merida. Because you like to wrestle and you look pretty in dark green.”

Sophie considered the option for a moment then nodded. “Okay.”

“Y'all friends again?” Abbie asked. Both children nodded. “What do we do at the end of a fight?”

“We hug it out,” they both replied. Sophie launched herself at her brother, knocking him over again as she hugged him. Within seconds they were both rolling around giggling and playfully rough housing.

Abbie returned to the kitchen and nudged Ichabod with her hip. “Crisis adverted.” She paused for a moment then added, “I don't see how you do this everyday.”

“It is... considerably easier than many of the foes we faced during the tribulations,” Ichabod replied, smiling down at her affectionately as he handed her some freshly skinned carrots to chop. 

Abbie wrinkled her nose. “I don't know, sometimes I'd rather still be going up against the demons than to face Sophie on one of her bad days.”

“Considering her namesake, does that come as any surprise?” 

“Not really,” Abbie replied, shaking her head. “Worst damn bet I ever made.”

“Well, it _was_ a draw, so she had to name one of the twins Abigail.” Ichabod gave her a sidelong glance. “To be fair, considering the fact you find me irresistible and she finds Danny such, was it any surprise that you both were unable to resist our charms for long?”

“Especially when y'all found out about the bet and made one amongst yourselves to see who could get us to snap first,” Abbie said flatly.

“Hearsay.”

“Danny admitted it to Sophie,” Abbie huffed.

“Sounds precisely like the sort of cunning tale Miss Foster would spin to cast blame elsewhere.”

Abbie arched a brow at him, having to hide a smile when he rocked back on his heels in a vain attempt to contain his giddiness. “Is that so? Care to make a bet to see who can resist whom the longest?”

Ichabod eyes flashed with challenge. “Oh, that is hardly a fair bet. You know I would surrender with ease against you,” he replied. “In both a figurative and literal sense.”

“There are two pre-schoolers currently in the house,” Abbie reminded. “One of them is having a temperamental day. And the other two should be getting home from school in a couple of hours. Then it's Halloween costume shopping. That makes things more interesting, don't you think?”

She watched Ichabod mull it over in his head. “I can think of approximately 23 locations and moments which could potentially end with my succumbing to your affections, today alone. If your sister is to join us for costume shopping, the number rises to... 34. 38 if we steal away to the suv... if we can manage to convince Miss Jenny to watch all of the children for a moment.”

“The bet is no fun if you're not even going to try to resist,” Abbie said. “And how did going to the car add 4 more?”

Ichabod took her hand and kissed it softly. “Oh, my darling Abigail,” he murmured. He kissed each of her fingers and gave her those big heart eyes that made her heart skip happily. “I shall most assuredly try to resist... but... I fully accept that I am powerless when it comes to you. And... driver's seat, passenger's seat and... two rows of seating in the back because the third row will be tucked away to permit storage of the wares we purchase at the shop.”

“Wouldn't that make it 39 since there wouldn't be anything in the storage space at that point?”

“I stand corrected. 39,” Ichabod hummed, kissing her fingers again. “Is it just me or has it gotten entirely too quiet in the other room?”

They both put down what they were doing and hurried to the foyer. They expected to find the two children getting into something they shouldn't. Instead the two children were curled up, together, asleep on the floor next to the dining room table.

“Shouldn't we move them to their beds?” Abbie asked quietly.

Ichabod held up a finger and shook his head. “No... no... Sophie rarely takes naps so she is to remain undisturbed wherever she decides to take her rest.”

Abbie caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “What location was number one on your list?”

“The bedroom, naturally, why do you...” He looked toward her as she started plucking at the buttons of her shirt and moving toward the stairs. “Oh...” Abbie waggled her brows as she watched his pupils dilate. He cast a glance between her and the sleeping children. “The children should not be left... un—... Oh bother who am I kidding... Sophie sleeps like the dead when she _does_ sleep.”

Abbie suppressed a giggle as she dashed up the stairs, Ichabod close on her heels. He caught her around the waist and lifted her over his shoulder as he entered the bedroom, pushing the door shut behind them.

  
#  


“You two are in an entirely too good of a moo—urgh, you had sex didn't you?” Jenny groaned.

“Mummy, what's sex?” Grace asked sweetly before Abbie could respond to Jenny.

“Something you are not old enough for,” Abbie said quickly then gave Jenny a foul glare. “Could you not give my eidetic minded children things to ask about, please?”

“ _Sorry_ ,” Jenny laughed. She nodded. She cast a quick direction toward Joey to make sure he hadn't wandered off. “But you totally did. Didn't you?”

Abbie put on a pair of oversized sunglasses that engulfed almost her entire head. “Do these glasses make my butt look big?”

“Yes. Yes they do,” Jenny retorted, pulling the glasses off of Abbie's face. “You've always been transparent, Abbie, so you can't deny it.”

“So then why do you need me to answer? And why is it your business anyway?” Abbie asked.

“ _Because_... it's going on five years since the end of the Apocalypse,” Jenny said. “I wanted to make sure you two were... you know... still good on that aspect. I mean... you've been together for going on, how many years?”

Abbie narrowed her eyes. “Almost nine years. Twelve if you count from arrival date. What are you getting at?”

“Ash and me are thinking about getting married,” Jenny said tentatively. She pointed at Abbie sternly. “Before you get excited... we're just _thinking_ about it. There hasn't been a proposal yet. We just have to make sure this is something we both want... long term. And you know me, I don't do long term anything. I freaked out when the rental place wanted me to do a two year payment plan on a TV.”

“And that worked out pretty good, didn't it?” Abbie asked. “And, once upon a time, you were flirting with the idea of long term with Joe...”

Jenny nodded lightly. “I know. And we see how that turned out.”

“I'm pretty sure dying is one of those things that can't be used to justify having hesitation about moving forward with a relationship,” Abbie replied. “Because everyone dies eventually and I'm pretty sure Ash isn't some kind of monster that you will have to end up shooting.”

Jenny sucked in a sharp breath and held it for a moment. “That was bordering insensitive but... okay.”

“Joey loves Ash,” Abbie pointed out. “And I'm sure Joe would have no problem with the idea of Ash being Joey's adopted dad since he's not around.” She gave her sister a hug then held her at arms length. “In the long run... just do what feels right for _you_. Not what you think would be good for Joey. Not what's good for Ash. Not what's good for society... Do what's right for Jenny.” Her eyes found Ichabod, who was knelt down in front of the children, probably giving them the guidelines for their costumes. “That will never lead you wrong when it comes to those kind of decisions.”

Jenny nodded when Abbie looked back at her. “You're right. You have this mommy thing down pat,” Jenny replied with a slight grin. Abbie gave her a flat look. “It's a compliment!” 

“I have to go over to the grown up costumes section and get some stuff to go with my costume. Think you can handle helping Ichabod for a moment?” Abbie asked.

“Sure,” Jenny said with a shrug. “Knock yourself out. Ichabod making y'all's costumes again?”

“Don't you know it,” Abbie grinned and wandered off toward the section that held the adult costumes. She caught Ichabod's eyes and nodded toward the section before disappearing into it. She waited just inside of the doorway, peering around to watch her darling husband with their equally darling children.

“Do you have your safety buddy?” Ichabod asked the children. The children nodded. Grace took Sophie's hand and Irving took John's. “Remember, stay with each other at all times and when you're done go to Auntie Jennifer. She has the basket.”

“And if a stranger tries to take us,” Sophie piped. “We punch them in the nose.”

“No, Sophie,” Grace groaned. “We ask for the password and—”

“If they don't haves it we set things on fire,” John piped.

“Oh. My. God,” Irving groaned. “We don't set things on fire, John. We get 'nother adult to help us!”

“Correct,” Ichabod replied. 

“Right,” John added with a stern tone. “We get an adult to set things on fire.”

“Close enough,” Ichabod sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Your auntie Jenny is right there with Joey. Your mother and I shall be in the grown up costumes getting... things.” 

With that the children set off to search for their costumes. Ichabod stood and smoothed down his coat before turning her way. Abbie grinned mischievously and walked deeper into the section. After a moment she felt his hand at the small of her back and he placed a kiss on her cheek from his position behind her.

“The children cannot be left unattended for too long, treasure,” Ichabod murmured softly, near her ear. “Sophie and John would easily overwhelm your sister if they approached her at the same time.” 

“Aw, come on, I'm sure they get couples sneaking into the fitting rooms for quickies all the time,” Abbie teased, gently nudging him with her elbow. “I was just trying to pick the right adornments for my costume.” She picked up a headband with black cat ears on it and put it on her head. “Will this make my costume look bad?”

Ichabod's eyes glimmered and he grinned. “Quite the contrary... they would add a small amount of whimsy.”

“I am still curious about the crocheted lace gloves,” Abbie commented. “And how they work into everything. They were pretty at any rate.”

“They took me two days to make. I'm surprised you haven't taken a peek yet, usually you do,” Ichabod hummed.

“I said I wouldn't this year... because I _trust you_ to make a good decision,” Abbie replied, poking him in the chest. “Your costumes are always fun.”

“I don't know, your selection of portraying various Marvel characters in the fashion of steampunk was quite fun last year,” he said.

Abbie grinned up at him and toyed with the lapels of his coat. “I knew you would like the steampunk Marvel.”

It was a shame the kids were all old enough to choose their own costumes, Abbie couldn't help but think. Unless they collaborated as a family, there would be no matching costumes any more, except for with her and Ichabod. And, considering she hadn't seen his costume yet she had no idea what he was going to do.

She had taken a peek at her costume while he had been out grocery shopping with the kids one Saturday, wile it was still in its early stages. He had taken her measurements and put them to good use making a lovely corset and the beginnings of a skirt. It had been full of lace, ribbon, and silk. It was lavender and black in colour. She had no idea how close it was to being finished at this point, but she fancied it was almost done considering Halloween was only a few days away.

Maybe she could sneak out to the shed and have a look before her final fitting.

“You're sure you want to turn down a quickie in the fitting room?” Abbie asked, stepping back. “They're just right... over... here...” She eased toward a fitting room that was tucked in a corner, slightly obscured by Mardi Gras masks, beads, and yellow and purple petticoats. She reached onto the rack and pulled off a random costume. “And I have a perfectly legitimate reason to go into it...”

Ichabod fidgeted slightly and looked toward the children's section then back toward her. His eyes fell to the costume she was holding and he gave a slight snort and laugh. “The irony of your selecting a _naughty nun_.”

Abbie looked down at the costume. It was a vinyl monstrosity with a short skirt being modelled by a blonde in black high heel boots. She put it back on the rack. “Sorry... I can't... I just... no. Forget I offered.” She shook her head. 

“Auntie Jenny! Sophie keeps hiding in the racks!” they could hear Irving call out. “She keeps reaching out and scaring people!”

Aaaand their resident trouble maker was making trouble.

  
#  


After nearly two hours Grace had decided on being an astronaut. Irving had selected to a cowboy. John had found his Princess Tiana costume. And Sophie had decided to be “Princess Satan”—complete with a sparkly red jumpsuit and tutu, after she found a plastic pitchfork.

Once everyone was piled back into the SUV, Abbie gave Jenny a kiss on the cheek before they went their separate ways. The entire trip to their favourite pizza place was punctuated by each child, in turn, hissing “Stop it Sophie!” when she poked them in the back of the head with her plastic pitchfork followed by her cackling “You're damned, and _you're_ damned, and _you_ are damned... _we're all damned_ by order of Princess Satan.”

Abbie looked at Ichabod, wondering why the hell he wasn't getting onto Sophie for swearing. They shared a look and he shrugged, “She's using it in the correct context.”

“I want some _damn_ pizza,” Sophie piped.

“ _Sophie_ ,” both Abbie and Ichabod said sternly at the same time.

“Wrong _constance_?” Sophie asked curiously.

“Lest you wish to have pizza from the bowels of the underworld, then yes,” Ichabod replied. “Which, from experience I can tell you is rather revolting.”

“When I am Queen of the Underworld I will make sure there is _yummy_ pizza,” Sophie hummed softly, tucking her hair behind her ears.

Once they were home and the children were tucked away in bed, Abbie and Ichabod made their way to the kitchen. Together they set to making themselves a late snack of sandwiches and orange juice.

“I am seriously starting to worry about Sophie, babe,” Abbie commented.

Ichabod smiled lightly and passed her the lettuce. “The same concerns you had when you discovered you were with child the first time?”

Abbie shook her head. “Not _that_ bad, considering the Apocalypse is over and done and all... but... sometimes I just... worry. You know? She's already been to three different pre-schools because, her way of looking at things makes people uncomfortable. I mean, a legitimate uncomfortable. Like when she told that one teacher she wanted to know what her brain felt like or... that time she told Jenny 'I bet you have a lot of blood inside you.'”

Ichabod nodded lightly. “Your concern is that she will not have any friends or she will take refuge with unsavoury sorts?” Abbie nodded. “We accepted that Sophie would see things differently when the doctors gave us her prognosis. But we must first look at the context of which she made these statements. She made the comment to your sister after following you to the bathroom whilst you were suffering from moonsickness and you explained what was happening.”

Abbie brought the back of her hand up to cover her mouth as she tried to stifle a laugh. She still wasn't used to the fact he used _that_ to describe a period.

“And if you recall, Sophie's actual query to the teacher was whether she had ever wondered what her brain felt like because she was curious as to what her own felt like,” Ichabod replied. “She is a very intelligent child, she just has a hard time explaining what she is thinking.”

“Still weird,” Abbie stated. “I just... want her to be happy, you know.”

“She just needs time to discover where she feels comfortable in the world regardless of whether she makes the average person uncomfortable or not. We can only hope to keep her guided in a direction that does not end unfavourably for her.”

They both looked up as they heard the tell-a-tale sound of bedsprings creaking. They closed their eyes and sighed when Grace's voice rang out, “Mum! Dad! Sophie is jumping on her bed!”

“I shall return momentarily,” Ichabod said. 

He swept out of the kitchen and Abbie finished up their sandwiches and made half of one extra and set it, along with a smaller glass of orange juice at one of the peninsula seats. A few minutes later, Ichabod returned with Sophie perched on one of his shoulders, her brandishing her plastic pitchfork.

“Halt, evil steed, 'tis Mummy,” Sophie proclaimed, pulling on Ichabod's hair. “And she has sandwiches.”

“Not sleepy baby?” Abbie asked. Sophie shook her head as Ichabod settled her into her seat at the peninsula. She instantly dug into her feast. 

“No,” Sophie said quietly. “I was thinking too much so I thinked... _thought_ if I jumped on my bed I would stop thinking and get sleepy.” Her eyes widened and she looked positively exasperated. “I always get sleepy when I play. It makes me exhausting.” She sighed heavily and rested her cheek in the palm of her hand. “'Specially when I have to play with the other kids at school.”

Abbie shared a glance with Ichabod. He was right. Sophie _was_ very intelligent. When she was that age she never would have thought to jump on the bed to tire herself out. “I have an idea...” Abbie said. “You know how we keep your daddy's old bed out in the sunroom for guests?”

Sophie nodded eagerly. Ichabod arched a curious eyebrow.

“How about... when you can't sleep at night, you can come downstairs and jump on _that bed_ ,” Abbie suggested. “That way, when you get tired, you can just lay down and go right to sleep because you're already in a bed. And you don't wake up your sister or your brothers.”

“That is the bestest idea I have ever heard in _my life_ ,” Sophie said excitedly. She gave a small squeal then gulped down her juice. “Daddy is right, you _are_ smart.”

Sophie scurried out of her seat and dashed through the laundry room to the sunroom. After a few seconds they could hear her jumping happily on the bed and singing 'I get to stay smart' over and over again.

“I feel a bit insulted right now,” Abbie commented.

“I have a perfect explanation for that,” Ichabod replied. “When I went to retrieve her, she asked if little girls got to stay smart when they grew up. And, naturally, I used you as an example.”

“When I was her age... I thought about things like... unicorns and faeries... why scooby doo could talk. I didn't have existential crises over whether I got be smart when I grew up,” Abbie said, shaking her head.

“I recall having life queries in my early years and was never satisfied with 'because that is how its done',” Ichabod shared, getting a far off look in his eyes. “So I had always intended that, when I had children, I would do my best to answer their questions.”

“Yeah but you probably were talking straight out of the womb,” Abbie said with a small smirk. Ichabod gave her a flat look. “I'm not saying that like its a bad thing. Just that maybe after a while your folks got tired of the constant questions.”

“To be fair I asked less questions once I learned to read,” Ichabod replied.

“Have you tried teaching Sophie to read?” Abbie asked.

“Of course. She looked at the first book, pushed it away, and said 'I don't like this.'” Ichabod looked affronted when Abbie burst into laughter. “She thought it was too shiny. So I gave her a less... shiny book. She didn't like the pictures. So I gave her a third book that had nothing but words. She loved it. But all she did was hug it. She said it was a pretty book and she loved it more than she liked the pretty forks we use for Sunday lunch.”

Abbie's eyebrows arched. “Wow. That is a very high compliment. She loves those forks.”

“She still hasn't read it.”

“Oh.”

They stood in companionable silence, nibbling on their sandwiches. Abbie leaned against Ichabod's tall frame, one arm tucked around his waist. After a moment, Abbie tilted her head. It was _quiet_. Completely devoid of beds creaking or childlike singing.

“Ichabod...” she said hesitantly.

“On it,” he replied as he moved away from her. Abbie followed after him as he made his way to the sun/guest room.

Sophie was laying on her back, sprawled out, snoring softly. It was as though she had just flopped backwards as soon as she had gotten tired, without a care, and fallen asleep. Abbie couldn't help but grin. That child definitely took after her father.

She felt Ichabod's hand come to rest on her hip and he leaned in close to quietly suggest, “Perhaps we can sneak out to the _shed_ and make certain your costume fits perfectly.” However, his tone suggested more than just a simple fitting.

Abbie was out the door and to the shed faster than lightning.


	2. The Harbinger of Cuddles

Abbie had more than one surprise when she walked into the shed. Surprise one was getting picked up from behind and toted in. Surprise two was some of the most rigorous lovemaking since Grace had been born. Surprise three had been that the costume she had seen when she had peeked had been a decoy.

So she had really been surprised when, instead of the black and lavender corset deal, Ichabod presented her with a navy and sky blue colonial style dress.

_“Is something wrong?” he had asked, amusement dancing in his eyes._

_“No, no... of course not,” Abbie said, her voice pitching gently. “It's just... so pretty.” She looked him over. “But you won't exactly be wearing a costume in this case...”_

_He had just smiled mysteriously. “Just wait and see.”_

Just wait and see. Ha. 

“Mummy... How does my Mae C Jemison costume look?” Grace asked cheerfully. She did an elegant pirouette then bowed.

“Perfect,” Abbie said with a grin as she tried get Sophie's sparkling devil horns to stay in place on her head. “Sophie this would be a lot easier if you would be still.”

“ _You_ be still,” Sophie huffed, folding her arms over her chest.

After another few minutes of struggling, Abbie just pulled Sophie's hair into an inelegant bun and fastened it with hairpins. Next was the devil horns. “All right, Princess Satan, you're all done.”

Sophie bound over to Grace. “You are a pretty astronaut,” she said sweetly. 

Grace smiled brightly. “And you're a pretty... Satan.”

Suddenly Sophie's eyes grew wide and she turned toward Abbie. “Mummy... Can I keep the puppy I'm going to find tonight?”

“Sure why not,” Abbie replied. She knew good and damn well there wouldn't be a puppy. Sophie had a habit of asking for random pets and that she would find it that day. She had yet to actually find one. That was alive.

Nonetheless, Sophie did a fist pump of victory. “Let's go trick or threatening!”

“All right ladies,” Abbie said, clapping her hands together. “Let's get down stairs and prove once and for all that the boys take longer to get ready.”

“Of course they take longer,” Grace scoffed. “They have John. _And_ he was distracted by doing Sophie's make up earlier.”

“You're very very beautiful Mummy,” Sophie said sweetly. “Daddy is lucky to have a bride that is beautiful and highly intelligent and sings so beautifully that it put an actual choir of angels to shame.”

For a moment Abbie felt taken aback and tears sprang to her eyes. “Thank you Sophie, that's very sweet of you to say.”

“That's what Daddy told me last night,” Sophie said with a gentle shrug. “And I agree.”

Abbie corralled the girls down the stairs once she managed to compose herself only to hear a disappointed “Aww, man” from Irving as soon as they reached the bottom.

“We told Daddy he was taking too long,” John groaned.

Abbie had been waiting for this moment since Ichabod had dashed out the door earlier saying there was one last thing he needed for his costume. In fact, he had arrived home just as she had started getting all four of the kids ready. He had simply called for the boys instead of fetching them directly, so she had yet to see what he had in wait for an evening of trick or treating and a small Halloween party at Jenny and Big Ash's place afterwards.

She turned to watch the boys finish bouncing down the steps. “Well aren't you boys handsome...” Abbie grinned. 

“I am not handsome, I am stunning,” John said with an affronted tone. He smoothed down his little dress and jutted his nose in the air. “But you all are very lovely this evening. Mummy, you look like a perfect lady, as always.” 

Abbie couldn't help but grin when John gave her a sweeping bow. “Either way, you are a perfect little gentleman,” Abbie said, kneeling down to fix a few of the ribbons on his dress. “And you are going to make a boy or girl very happy someday if you keep it up.”

John groaned and rolled his eyes. “ _Mummy_ ,” he admonished. “I like _girls_.”

“Okay,” Abbie nodded. “You will make a girl very happy some day.”

“Is everyone ready to go?”

Abbie looked up at the sound of Ichabod's voice and the sound of him coming down the stairs. Her jaw immediately dropped. Ichabod was in an actual modern suit and looked damn good in it. Not a business suit, but an all out gentleman's, dark blue, five-piece suit that had been perfectly tailored to him, complete with a tie that matched the lighter blue of her dress. She let her eyes roam over him slowly.

“Well, _hello_ , Mister Crane,” Abbie said appreciatively. Her eyes finally reached his face where she jerked her head back in surprise. “What the hell did you do to your hair?” Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she reached up to stroke the slightly shorter locks. After a moment of realizing she could still run her fingers through it, she nodded. “Okay, we're good.”

She had to stifle a laugh when she saw the haphazardly made FBI badge and lanyard around his neck that featured the 'FBI' in bright pink glitter. Underneath the sparkling letters was Irving's tidy handwriting that spelled out 'Ichabod Crane Special Agent'

“Looks like a lot of team work went into this,” Abbie commented, playing with the fake badge. “But... we don't match. It looks like we just swa—oh. I get it.” She batted her lashes as her husband's grin broadened. Anyone that knew them and knew the story behind them would get it, which a majority of Sleepy Hollow would.

She was in the equivalent of what a middle class woman would wear in the colonial era and Ichabod looked every bit the modern gentleman. When he offered his arm, Abbie slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Mister Crane, I am _curious_ about these 'Halloween' festivities you speak of. Would you do the honours of explaining how we went from cowering in our homes on All Hallow's Eve to... children donning costumes and begging for candy?”

Ichabod looked down shyly and she grinned when his face tinged pink. “Most certainly, Miss Abigail...” He glanced between the children. “Let's go, children, we mustn't keep your Auntie Jennifer waiting.”

The eldest three formed a perfect queue and hurried out the door. Sophie bounced happily behind them singing about how she got to have a puppy later. It wasn't until Ichabod assisted her down the porch steps that it occurred to her, “I won't be able to drive in this dress.”

“I thought it would be obvious that I would be driving,” Ichabod replied. “Also, if need be, there are hidden clasps under the top tier that allow you to remove the bulk of the skirt later and transforms it into a cocktail dress... if you so desire. As well as pockets.”

“You think I didn't notice the pockets right off?” Abbie asked, as Ichabod opened the back door to the SUV to let the children clamour in. “That was the first thing I noticed.” 

He closed the back door once the children were in and then opened her door. Abbie eased into the passenger seat and adjusted her skirt so he could close the door. When he got in on the other side, Ichabod took a deep breath. “In response to your query, Mrs. Crane, one must first look at the origins of All Hallows Eve itself... During the Christianization of Europe the Church was trying to accommodate the pagans who were refusing to completely let go of their previous faith...”

The eldest three children groaned. Abbie grinned widely.

“ _Shut up_ , I'm trying to _hear_ Daddy,” Sophie groused from her seat in the back row.

  
#  


For all intents and purposes that night had been a good one up until about half an hour before the trick or treaters had to get off the streets. Ichabod had been in the middle of trying to clean smeared chocolate off of Sophie's face despite all the children being told not to eat anything until they could have the sheriff's department check it. Sophie was adamantly denying she had eaten any of her candy. John was complaining that everyone kept thinking he was a cute little girl. Grace and Irving were busy swapping out candies they didn't like for ones they did. Jenny and Joey were hitting up the last couple of houses on the street. Abbie was wondering just how she lucked up having such a wonderful and silly family.

It was just about the moment Abbie was getting ready to sigh wistfully about how perfect her life was that an eerie howl echoed through the cool October air. This was followed by the sound of screaming and people running frantically. Mothers and fathers were clutching their smaller children in their arms and running whilst older children ran along side of them.

“Mum, what's that?” Irving asked, pointing down the street at what appeared to be two glowing red lanterns floating about the same level of the rooftops.

Slowly but surely a dark form was taking shape around the glowing orbs. The orbs slowly took shape of eyes.

“That is... a good reason to start moving the other way,” Abbie stated, scooping John into her arms the same moment Ichabod did the same to Sophie.

Grace and Irving, having been born while the Apocalypse was still taking place, knew that if their mom said it was time to run from a supernatural creature that they should do so. They immediately stopped swapping candies and nodded with acceptance.

“What's the rule about monsters?” Ichabod asked.

“Never run from anything that might be immortal because it attracts their attention,” John chimed happily.

“It looks like a spectre class demon,” Grace offered.

“Are you sure? Looks more like a shadow class demon,” Irving argued.

“Let's not argue about the class of demon and just move on down the street at an acceptable speed without running,” Abbie said. “Let's get somewhere safe so Mommy and Daddy can find out what it actually is and take care of it.”

“It's my puppy!” Sophie squealed happily, pointing at the creature.

“I have severe doubts, Sophie,” Ichabod stated.

As a family unit they moved down the street at a fast walk, toward the SUV. As soon as Ichabod set down Sophie to get the keys out of his pocket, she dashed down the street as quickly as her tiny legs could carry her. “It's my puppy, Mummy! You said I could keep him!”

Abbie hiked up the bulk of her skirts and hurried after the child. She swore as the petticoats underneath slowed her down. As soon as she caught up, she let go of the skirt and scoops Sophie up into her arms. “That is not a puppy, Sophie. That is a demon and Daddy and I need to—”

Sophie wriggled and screamed in her arms, swatting and kicking with all her might to get free. “Ic—Ich... Ichabod... a little help.”

The creature was close when Ichabod made it over to relieve her of the wailing child, which earned him a tiny elbow to the face. He knelt down and put Sophie's feet on the ground but held her in place as he looked her sternly. “Sophie,” he said firmly. “There is danger. We mustn't misbehave whilst there is danger. Remember?”

At that, Sophie went into a complete meltdown, slithering to ground as she screamed, “But Mummy promised! Mummy said I could keep the puppy I founded.”

“Sophie, there's not a puppy!” Grace said frantically as she ran up with her two brothers hot on her heels. “It's a monster, not a puppy...”

It fell upon ears that refused to hear facts at that moment and Sophie only wailed louder and began kicking and swinging her arms to fight off anyone that wanted to get close enough to touch her. Finally Ichabod managed to grasp Sophie's wrists and used them to pull her into a tight embrace that kept her from harming anyone or herself.

Once she was secured, Ichabod stood. However, the creature was closing in on them. It was close enough they could make out pitch black fur that seemed to suck in any light in its vicinity. 

“Damn,” Abbie said as her and Ichabod tried to conceal the older children behind them. Her hand went to her hip but didn't find her fire arm. And Ichabod had neither his flick lock nor his sword on his sides. They didn't even have a damn spell book to throw at the creature because, more often than not, they didn't need that kind of thing on an emergency basis any more. “Damn... Damn... We got nothing...”

The creature made its way down the street toward them, its backside dragging the ground as its glowing red eyes focused on them. It gave an unholy sound that sounded half like a growl and half like a whimper. The closer it came, the more Abbie could make out the shape.

It was a wolf. A rather massive wolf that easily reached her shoulders. A massive black wolf with glowing red eyes. Slowly, Sophie's cries subsided and she lifted her tiny head from Ichabod shoulder and pointed at it.

“That's my puppy, Mummy,” Sophie said pitifully. “You says I could keep him.”

The creature collapsed in front of them and let out a soft whimper. The massive glowing eyes slowly blinked then closed.

Both Abbie's and Ichabod's mouths dropped open in shock. They were so surprised at he sudden turn of events that Sophie managed to wriggle herself free and to the ground. Abbie felt a wave of panic as both her and Ichabod came out of their surprise and leapt forward to try and catch her. But Sophie was smaller and surprisingly nibble on her tiny feet and legs and foisted herself at the animal, hugging its massive head, gripping tiny fistfuls of fur and burying her face in its scruff. “You said I could keep him Mummy, you promised.” She looked toward them with a sad look on her face. “He's hurt Mummy... Someone hurt my puppy.”

“Is... Am I hallucinating or is Sophie hugging...” Abbie said hesitantly.

“A Grim?” Ichabod finished. He nodded. “I do believe so...”

“It's okay, Mummy and Daddy,” Sophie said. “He came because he needs your help. Someone hurt him. And you said I could keep my puppy when I found him. And here him is. So we have to save him.”

“Oh my God...”

Abbie turned as Jenny, Joey, and Ash joined them. Jenny's mouth was hanging open in surprise.

“What in the Hell,” Ash intoned, mirroring Jenny's sentiment. 

“Sophie says he sought us out because he is injured,” Ichabod said.

“Then let's help him,” Ash replied. “If I know one thing... if there is something out there that can injure a demon dog, we want to make sure we have this pooch on our side later.”

That's when it occurred to Abbie. “Who would willingly try to kill a Grim?”

Abbie and Jenny shared a look. Jenny nodded. “We'll get him somewhere safe and keep the kids out of harms way. You two go do your thing.”

  
#  


Following the trail of frightened people and the direction they pointed when they asked which direction the Grim had come from, Abbie and Ichabod soon found themselves in one of Sleepy Hollows oldest graveyards, standing outside of a church that had been turned into a tourist attraction decades ago.

Abbie and Ichabod stared down at five very frightened teenager girls dressed like witches disapprovingly. “It was highly irresponsible of you to summon such a creature!” Ichabod scolded.

“Do you realize how many people you scared?” Abbie added. “Not to mention there are _small children_ out on the streets tonight. Do you realize you will be held responsible if anyone got hurt or killed because of this little stunt?”

“You can certainly plan on telling your parents to expect a visit from the two of us come morning,” Ichabod huffed. “Demon summoning is _not_ a parlour trick. And we did not spend 7 years making certain such entities were properly sealed away for _children_ to unleash them back upon the earth.”

“And not only that, I promised my youngest child she could keep the 'puppy' she found tonight,” Abbie shouted, putting her fists on her hips. “She thinks that goddamn Grim is her new puppy! _We_ have to keep your demon dog as our freakin' pet because _I promised_ and she is refusing to comprehend that he is not a puppy. _Do you have any idea how long demons live_? They live forever! Forever I tell you! We are stuck with a demon dog as a pet for all eternity! I hope you're happy!”

Ichabod placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her back when she started advancing on the girls. “Abbie,” he said cautiously. “Although now is probably not the best of times to say this, I would like to remind you that we had this discussion when Sophie started asking if she could keep the animals she found... That one day she would find one that was alive and you would be beholden to that promise.”

The look that over took Abbie's face more than confirmed that, yes, this was not the time to be reminding her of that discussion. “She said _puppy_ ,” she said tensely. “When I think 'puppy' I think small and cute... not a god damn demon dog.”

“We tried resealing it...” one of the girls sobbed. “Please don't tell my mama... She'll _kill me_ if she finds out I pissed off the Witnesses.”

“You tried re—do you hear this? Am I hearing this right?” Abbie squeaked, looking at Ichabod and jutting her hands toward the teenagers. Ichabod nodded solemnly, clasping his hands behind his back. Abbie looked at the kids. “All you managed to do was hurt it. Because you didn't know what you were doing.” She looked at Ichabod. “What does a Grim even eat? Do we have to feed it souls or something every sundown? I only promised Sophie she could keep any puppy she found tonight because I thought it would be the usual spiel of where the damn thing was dead when she found it.”

One of the girls wailed dramatically and pleaded for them to not feed her soul to the Grim. However one of the other girls sat up straight. “According to the books I read, and we chose which one was summoned very carefully, the Grim is immortal so it shouldn't require feeding. It's purpose is to seek out those whose souls are about to depart the earth, to give them warning.” The girl straighten her glasses. “We made sure to summon a benevolent demon dog. One that has several lores that say if you show it kindness it will protect you and that they are especially protective of children.”

Well that was a relief, Abbie guessed. That still didn't change the fact they literally had nowhere to keep a creature that was the size of a cow. She pointed between all the girls. “All right. I will let y'all off this time under one condition...”

Five sets of eager eyes filled with hope.

“Don't look so happy,” Abbie intoned. “Because you're going to be helping us nurse that thing back to health so my daughter can have her puppy.” She paused. “And maybe y'all will learn a thing or two about _real_ magic in the process.”

  
#  


The injury to the Grim, it seemed, steamed from a wooden pike that had been driven through its hind leg. It seemed more accidental, considering part of the creatures trail had gone through the fields the re-enactors were setting up for later that week.

Jenny, Ash, several friends, and the children had transported it to the masonic cell. Ash had taken all the children, save Sophie, to his and Jenny's home to keep them out of the way while Jenny and a few local witches they had befriended during the Apocalypse worked on healing the creature. Sophie stayed diligently next to the Grim the entire time, falling asleep against its massive scruff during the process.

By time morning rolled around, the adults were all exhausted while Sophie chattered happily to the Grim, stroking its nose as though she didn't comprehend that its head was bigger than she was. At sunrise, Abbie and Ichabod escorted the five girls that had summoned the creature back home. Each girl looked rightfully ashamed when their parents answered the door and had to admit what they had done.

Except for one. The girl that had offered them the lore on the Grim had kept quiet most of the way and had opted to be the last to be dropped off. Just one glance in the mirror and Abbie saw fear and tears. The girl was terrified of going home but yet she was silently accepting it with grace and dignity.

Abbie pulled into a dusty path that led to a mobile home tucked away in a small clearing of the woods. “Is everything going to be all right for you?” Abbie asked. The girl nodded quietly.

“If you're scared, I can take you some place that can keep you safe,” Abbie offered.

“My dad and my little brother are here. I can't leave them alone with _her_ for too long,” the girl said softly. “My dad's girlfriend is crazy mean. He's scared to leave her because she threatened to call social services and have me and my brother taken away from him if he did. She... hurts all of us.”

“Mrs. Crane and I would be more than happy to assure that doesn't happen,” Ichabod replied.

Abbie's eyes connected with the girls. She felt her heart stammer for a moment when she realized, out of all the girls from the group, _this one_ had not been the least bit scared of the creature while they had worked on patching him up. She had gone so far as to sit next to Sophie petting him during lulls.

This particular one had known precisely what she had been doing when they called forward the Grim. She was probably even the reason why they hadn't been able to send the creature back to where it had come from.

“It's not going to happen,” the girl said quietly and slipped out of the back seat. “Not again, at any rate.”

As soon as the girl stepped away from the car, a woman emerged from home, her arms flailing and she was obviously yelling. The girl moved closer to the shadowed part of the property, the woman followed after. Abbie had just grabbed her badge and was about to get out of the car when a darker shadow emerged from the woods.

“Abbie...”

Abbie held up a hand to stall Ichabod. “Hang on...”

Abbie's phone rang and she answered it without taking her eyes away from the scene that was unfolding. It was Jenny, frantically trying to find out how to calm Sophie down because the 'puppy' had disappeared.

“Tell her... he'll be back in a minute,” Abbie replied. “Make up a reason for him to have gone outside.”

The Grim slowly took solid form and stepped toward the woman, who was now slack jawed and backing away. The girl held up a hand and the Grim paused. Abbie wasn't exactly sure what the girl was saying to the woman but within five minutes the woman was dragging a suitcase full of clothes out of the mobile home and made a hasty retreat in an old Mustang.

Abbie watched the girl rub the creature behind the ears then kiss its nose just before it disappeared back into the shadows.

“ _Abbie... Abbie... it just... it just reappeared..._ ” she could hear Jenny saying. Abbie hung up the phone. “He went back to Sophie.” She took a deep breath then sighed. “So... we have a dog now.”

“A demon dog,” Ichabod said with a slight nod.

“A demon dog that protects children,” Abbie added.

“A demon dog that protects children and has bonded with our youngest child.”

Abbie blinked for a moment. “Technically, since he's a supernatural creature and she has magical abilities... our youngest child has a demon dog as a familiar.”

They sat in silence for a long moment. “Needless to say, I do not think we shall have to worry over whether the children will be safe should a supernatural threat pop up once again.”

Abbie nodded. “I need a nap. I need a long nap to try and process all of this.” She looked at Ichabod as she put the SUV in reverse. “Send Jenny a text and ask her to bring the kids home around lunch time. And the dog.”

  
#  


Apparently in the sunlight the demon dog—or as Sophie named him, Pookie—became smaller. Not much smaller but he was a size somewhat manageable to a normal human being. He still stood tall enough that Abbie could easily have stare downs with him. In the daylight his eyes were big and gold. It was only in the shadows he was able to expand his appearance to _seem_ larger and his eyes took on the reddish glow.

Sophie liked to ride him around as though he were a pony and completely harmless and was not a harbinger of death—a task he didn't seem too keen on doing since he started living the good life as a house pet. The other children took to him as well and it became a fairly common thing for Abbie and Ichabod to check on the children and find all four of them curled up with the creature, sleeping.

They soon discovered Sophie had only been the first of their children to acquire such a special “pet.” A few months later, Irving found himself in possession of a small chimera that looked like a tiny dragon mixed with a long-haired Siamese cat. A faery took a liking to John and found residence amongst the various succulents throughout the house. And lastly, a massive raven found companionship with Grace after she rescued it from a group of children that was throwing rocks at it. 

As for Abbie and Ichabod, they soon found they had gone from fighting demons in the Apocalypse to caring for injured supernatural creatures. Needless to say, they had a great many of sleepless nights for their foreseeable future.


End file.
